BankTennessee Breaks Ground In Middle Tennessee

By Andy Meek

Collierville-based BankTennessee is breaking ground on a new site in Lebanon, Tenn., later this month that will serve as the bank’s Middle Tennessee headquarters.

The groundbreaking on the 7,200-square-foot headquarters will happen June 25 at the property, a 1.85-acre site across from Lebanon High School. The bank’s announcement of its new presence in the town comes on the heels of a period of growth for BankTennessee, which enjoyed one of the best years in its history in 2012 and is looking to its future by focusing on the secret sauce it’s employed for almost 80 years – a commitment to local service.

Joel Porter, BankTennessee’s chairman of the board, cited Lebanon’s growth as a reason for the bank’s recommitment to the community. The bank first established an office there in 2007, and the bank has been working since then to develop and expand client relationships there.

PASCHAL

“It’s important for us to have a strong presence in the community with a highly visible, accessible site,” said Tom Paschal, the bank’s Middle Tennessee president. “This location certainly meets that need and will allow us to better serve our customers.”

The new office will open later this year. Once it does, BankTennessee will relocate there from its existing Lebanon location at 109 Signature Place.

Moving forward on the new digs comes on the heels of a strong 2012 for BankTennessee that saw the bank earn almost $2.6 million on assets of about $248 million. The bank also has been on a hiring spree and recently expanded its slate of services for customers.

In the past three months alone, the bank has hired a new controller and a new vice president of treasury management.

Jason McDoniel is the new controller. He has six years of experience in banking as a controller and most recently was with The Bank of Fayetteville in Arkansas.

Mark Nance joined BankTennessee as vice president in its treasury management department. He has 14 years of experience and most recently was with the treasury management departments of Trust One Bank and Paragon National Bank.

“Our partnership with Raymond James expands our traditional banking services with the ability for our customers to work with a highly respected firm to provide financial planning and investment services,” said BankTennessee president and CEO Jim Rout. “We’re proud to work with David Lofton, a seasoned leader and certified financial planner, at Raymond James.”

Lofton has more than 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry. He joined Raymond James in 2004 after seven years with Morgan Keegan.

He’ll be working out of the main BankTennessee office in Collierville but said he also will be looking to grow his business by getting out and meeting people face to face.

BankTennessee was founded in Memphis in 1934. It has retail banking offices in Collierville, East Memphis, Downtown Memphis, Germantown, Ripley and Lebanon.

Its loan production office in Atoka will become a full-service branch later this summer.